Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Nut Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Melt the chocolate and mix it with the boiling water until thoroughly combined.
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the milk, flour, eggs, and baking powder to the mixture and mix well.
Stir in the chocolate mixture and chopped walnuts.
Bake and finish
Pour the batter into a shallow pan, ensuring it's no more than 2 inches thick.
Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Ice with white icing once cooled.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Chocolate + walnuttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,548 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + walnuttop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,873 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set during baking.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, tenderizing the crumb and carrying flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender texture when creamed with butter.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes lighter.
- Walnuts
- Add crunch and a toasty, nutty flavor that contrasts the soft crumb.
The step that matters
Pour the batter into a shallow pan. A shallow layer lets heat reach the center evenly, so the cake bakes through without the outside overcooking before the middle sets. Check doneness with a toothpick.
Swap the walnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, milk, flour, egg, chocolate):
- Almondfits better
- Hazelnutfits about as well
- Pecansfits about as well
- Walnutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, milk, flour, egg, chocolate. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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